The friends of Kate and Gerry McCann, who accompanied them on their holiday to Portugal about five years ago, are expecting interview requests as soon as officers feel they could assist the investigation.

They are preempting the gun but at least brave enough to put it on the front page. Its a start

AnnaEsse wrote:Referring to the bunch of them as the "Tapas 7," is hardly complimentary!

That's exactly what I thought Anna when I saw the headline (as I was heading to bed an hour or so ago). Trying not to be too hopeful but I AM liking the phraseology of the headline in the Express. "Yard to call in Tapas 7" has a certain connotation to it. This is a bit of a bolt out of of the blue, which I would have expected to read as "SY to speak to the friends of the McCanns". This month is looking very interesting indeed.

Oldartform wrote:It seems like a breakthrough but, as Lioned said, what`s the source?

And don`t forget TM have had nearly 5 years to get their stories straight. I`m going all cautious now.

I'm sure we're all cautious now, as ever, Oaf. You'd have to wonder why it has taken Scotland Yard 9 months to "call in the T7/9". We here could have told them to do that after 9 days - May 12th 2007, which would have been Madeleine's 4th birthday. I'm no police officer but on that day I just KNEW the McCanns were lying about their daughter's disappearance.

AnnaEsse wrote:Referring to the bunch of them as the "Tapas 7," is hardly complimentary!

That's exactly what I thought Anna when I saw the headline (as I was heading to bed an hour or so ago). Trying not to be too hopeful but I AM liking the phraseology of the headline in the Express. "Yard to call in Tapas 7" has a certain connotation to it. This is a bit of a bolt out of of the blue, which I would have expected to read as "SY to speak to the friends of the McCanns". This month is looking very interesting indeed.

Well done to The Express on the headline at least, it certainly does give the impression that the group who infamously said 'We have a Pact' have some questions to answer.

Perhaps we can now look forward to reading 'Tapas 7 called back to Portugal for Reconstruction' on next weeks front page.

The Sunday Express has learned that the Tapas Seven “fully expect” to be asked to go over the statements they made to Portuguese officers shortly after Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007.They were also interviewed by Leicestershire detectives, with Portuguese officers in attendance, when they arrived home.The most significant witness is mother-of-two Jane Tanner, partner of doctor Russell O’Brien, who said she saw a man carrying a child resembling Madeleine some time after 9pm. Another key witness is Matthew Oldfield, who went to the apartment to check on Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie, who celebrated their seventh birthdays last week.Mr Oldfield saw the twins in their cot but did not push the door open wide enough to see Madeleine, although he was happy all was well.All the Tapas Seven fully support the Yard’s review of the case and hope it will provide a breakthrough. Other members of the group include Mr Oldfield’s wife Rachael, David and Fiona Payne and her mother Dianne Webster.A Yard spokesman declined to say who would be interviewed and when. “We are not going into that level of details,” he said. “We are not at the stage of speaking to individuals yet. We are laying the groundwork.”The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said they and their friends would do everything to assist attempts to discover what happened to Madeleine.

SCOTLAND YARD detectives are poised to interview the so-called Tapas Seven as their inquiry into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann steps up a gear.

The friends of Kate and Gerry McCann, who accompanied them on their holiday to Portugal almost five years ago, are expecting interview requests as soon as officers feel they could assist the investigation.

So far, the Yard’s Maddie Squad has been concentrating on analysing every scrap of evidence in the case from files supplied by Leicestershire police, ­Portuguese detectives and Metodo 3, the Barcelona-based private investig­ators hired by the McCanns.

Officers have flown to Portugal three times and visited Spain twice.

With much of the analysis over, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood wants to put his team of three detective chief inspectors, five detective sergeants and 19 detective constables to good use.

They are being supported by six civilian staff and three officers from the specialist murder review group, bringing the total number on the team to 37.

We are not at the stage of speaking to individuals yet. We are laying the groundwork

A Yard spokesman

By April the cost of the inquiry will be £1.9million but it is thought that figure could double with the “investigative review” going into next year.

After nine months of information gathering, officers are checking statements from key witnesses.

They include the Tapas Seven, so called because they were eating at a tapas bar with Kate and Gerry at the time Madeleine disappeared.

In some cases the Yard officers have asked for documents to be retranslated from ­Portuguese to English so that they are absolutely sure of what was said and meant.

One theory they are examining is that if someone abducted Madeleine they could have had a copy of the key for the holiday apartment at the Ocean Club in the Algarve resort of Praia da Luz.

The Sunday Express has learned that the Tapas Seven “fully expect” to be asked to go over the statements they made to Portuguese officers shortly after Madeleine vanished on May 3, 2007.

They were also interviewed by Leicestershire detectives, with Portuguese officers in attendance, when they arrived home.

The most significant witness is mother-of-two Jane Tanner, partner of doctor Russell O’Brien, who said she saw a man carrying a child resembling Madeleine some time after 9pm.

Another key witness is Matthew Oldfield, who went to the apartment to check on Madeleine and twins Sean and Amelie, who celebrated their seventh birthdays last week.

Mr Oldfield saw the twins in their cot but did not push the door open wide enough to see Madeleine, although he was happy all was well.

All the Tapas Seven fully support the Yard’s review of the case and hope it will provide a breakthrough.

Other members of the group include Mr Oldfield’s wife Rachael, David and Fiona Payne and her mother Dianne Webster.

A Yard spokesman declined to say who would be interviewed and when. “We are not going into that level of details,” he said. “We are not at the stage of speaking to individuals yet. We are laying the groundwork.”

The McCanns’ spokesman Clarence Mitchell said they and their friends would do everything to assist attempts to discover what happened to Madeleine.

In some cases the Yard officers have asked for documents to be retranslated from ­Portuguese to English so that they are absolutely sure of what was said and meant.

As we all know that some of the people that turn up on this forum always say

"ahh... but the statements were translated so did not mean what you think they did"

At least Scotland Yard have made double sure.

The problem is, the Tapas 7, after all these years won"t have a clue as to what their initial statements to the Portugese Police said.The inane questionsasked by LP won't help either.

If the Portugese Police release the phone taps to SY, that could be the breakthrough.

Hello Panda, I agree with you, regarding the Tapas 7 not having a clue about their initial statements. They changed their stories more than once. Look how many times Jane Tanner changed her description of the so called abductor. She said she only saw him from the back, but she gave a few descriptions of his face. Anyway I hope it won't be too long before S.Y. haul in the "gruesome twosome."

I also hope that this news, is the beginning of the end of the days of freedom, for the McCanns and everyone who helped them escape prosecution, for their part in Madeleine's disappearance.

A long long time ago, Matthew Parris of the Spectator said the British Press were furious at the way they had been treated by the McCanns inPortugal and if ever the McCanns were found to have anything to do with Madeleine's disappearance the Press would show no mercy. First of all we hadthe cost of the Review reported, now possible re-interviews of the Tapas 7 , plus the McCanns......softly softly catchee monkey.

What a patchwork quilt of statements SY will have to piece together. The best of luck to them. I do hope this news and this week heralds in at last the beginning of the end in solving the mystery of what happened to Madeleine. I hope her little soul can rest in peace when everyone involved in her "disappearance" is brought to justice.